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Town ready to train first volunteers

Deep River appears to be well on its way to establishing a composite force of volunteers to augment its full-time fire personnel.

Twelve volunteer firefighters have been selected, Fire Chief Gary McRae stated in a report to town council last week, and police background checks and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ security clearances have been completed.

After rising from a closed session, council approved an hourly compensation rate for the volunteer firefighters of $20 per hour, along with an annual attendance incentive (AAI) of $2,000, tax-free, hinging upon a minimum attendance rate of 80 per cent.

The minimum call-back would be two hours, and they’ll be paid $20 per hour during training.

Additional hours of work will be calculated at half-hour intervals, and the volunteers will receive the same rate of Workplace Safety and Insurance Board coverage as first class firefighters.

With all that in mind, the resolution arising from the closed session noted that the 160 hours of training for the volunteers will cost $38,400, while their personal protective ensemble will come in at an estimated cost of $35,000.